Bustling and buzzing, the market street known as Sharia Al Muski begins in the khan where it's formally called Sharia Gawhar Al Qaid and is lined by tacky souvenir stalls. But further west, once you've crossed Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah, it reverts to a local scene, lined with carts selling cheap shoes, plastic toys, fireworks, bucket-sized bras and some truly shocking lingerie.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Pyramids of Giza
9.01 MILES
The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids…
Egyptian Museum
1.58 MILES
One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan…
Saqqara
12.5 MILES
Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…
Museum of Islamic Art
0.52 MILES
This museum, on the edge of Islamic Cairo, holds one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art and is Egypt's (and one of the entire Middle East's)…
Al Azhar Mosque
0.2 MILES
Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…
Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah
0.06 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
Coptic Museum
3.38 MILES
This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…
Khan Al Khalili
0.09 MILES
The skinny lanes of Khan Al Khalili are basically a medieval-style mall. This agglomeration of shops – many arranged around small courtyards – stocks…
Nearby Cairo attractions
1. Midaq Alley
0.05 MILES
This tiny alley is Islamic Cairo's literary star thanks to being immortalised in Naguib Mahfouz's famous novel named after the street. Although the…
2. Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah
0.06 MILES
Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
3. Khan Al Khalili
0.09 MILES
The skinny lanes of Khan Al Khalili are basically a medieval-style mall. This agglomeration of shops – many arranged around small courtyards – stocks…
4. Mosque-Madrassa of Al Ghouri
0.11 MILES
On the western side of Sharia Al Muizz, opposite the mausoleum, is the second part of Al Ghouri's funerary complex, the intimate and richly decorated…
5. Mausoleum of Al Ghouri
0.11 MILES
The penultimate Mamluk sultan Al Ghouri built his funerary complex in 1504, on both sides of Sharia Al Muizz. At the age of 78, Al Ghouri was beheaded in…
6. Madrassa & Mausoleum of As Salih Ayyub
0.11 MILES
This complex was built between 1242 and 1244 by the last Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, Al Salih Najm Al Din Ayyub, who died defending Egypt against the…
7. Madrassa & Mausoleum of Qalaun
0.11 MILES
Built in just 13 months, the 1279 Madrassa and Mausoleum of Qalaun is both the earliest and the most splendid of the vast religious complexes on this…
8. Carpet & Clothes Market
0.13 MILES
The street between Al Ghouri’s mosque and the mausoleum, and the area around, was historically the city’s silk market. While it isn’t a particularly great…